More Resources

Discovery Channel's Man vs. Wild series with Bear Grylls. Three seasons available on DVD. (Some used copies at Half.com.) I Shouldn't Be Alive is another series that recounts true stories of people marooned. See also the new series Dual Survival. and Man-Woman-Wild.

Wilderness Survival

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Getting Lost and Found

When traveling, every 15 minutes or so make a mental note of your location by observing your compass heading, angle of sun, landmarks or other terrain markers, like the vegetation, topography, star pattern, prevailing wind, etc. An even better guidepost is to make a map of the area as you go, noting the time it takes to walk in any one direction.

To lessen the chance of getting lost on a return trip to your camp, set it up near a river or other baseline. Then strike out in a fairly perpendicular direction from it. On the return, you'll know you have turn either left or right when you reach the lateral. To be sure which way you need to turn, you should also purposely veer to one side of the camp. That takes the guesswork out of the equation.

If you discover or think you might be lost, immediately stop and establish a new starting point. Notch a tree, pile up some rocks, or tie a bright cloth to a branch. Now, trace ever-widening circles around this spot in search of the familiar terrain or trail. As you move farther away from the starting point, bend branches or blaze trees along your path so you can stay oriented. Mark your blazes so that they can be seen in either direction (coming or going). Also cut them into the bark diagonally, with the higher end of the blaze pointed in the direction of your anchor position.

One method of staying on a direct (i.e. straight) course is to line up two trees or other landmarks ahead as you walk. If you start seeing the two of them apart, stop and realign them, one in front of the other. When you reach the second tree, repeat the exercise by lining up two more landmarks that lie directly ahead. (You can also look backwards at the two previous points to verify the direction.)

Using the Sun to Tell Direction and Time

Since the sun shines most of the day in the south end of the sky, the shade is prevalent on all northern exposures. This simple rule of thumb can sometimes make up for no compass. In addition, moss grows thickest on the shady side of trees and rocks, so even on a cloudy day, you can determine your cardinal points.

Stick and shadow method - Since the sun travels from east to west, shadows travel from west to east. Thus, if you plant a stick in the ground, mark the end of its shadow with a stone and return in twenty minutes you can mark the new spot where the shadow stops and lay a stick between the two points. This is your East to West direction, with West on the end marked by the first stone.

Use a watch to determine South - Point hour hand at sun (use a twig or pine needle to cast shadow) then turn hour hand until it’s the same distance from the shadow as the shadow from 12 o’clock.

Sun Dial - Pound a stake in ground and stretch string from it to the end of its shadow. Then make an arc around the first stake using this point. The shadow will recede, then move out again. When it reaches a place on the arc, mark it with a third stake. Halfway between those two outer stakes marks your north-south line.

4 p.m.
On a sundial, two halves of a semi-circle are marked with lines to catch the shadow of a triangular the gnomon that sits perpendicular to the clock. The right half represents 1:00 p.m to 6:00 p.m. The left half 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. 12:00 is at the top. Notice the spaces between the lines are uneven. That's because the sun moves faster up from the horizon than it does across the noon sky.

More Orientation Tips

Makeshift compass – Rub a needle or metal wire against your head (or stroke it with silk) to magnetize it, then float it on a leaf in water. If you stroke the needle from eye downward, the eye will point north.

Celestial Navigation - At night, if stars move flat left, then you’re looking north; if rising, then east. Orion travels SE to SW. Last two stars of Big Dipper point to Polaris. Your latitude on earth is the same as the angle of your location looking up at Polaris. At night, line up two stakes toward Polaris to create a north pointing marker for the next morning.

Declination/map versus compass North – When reckoning your way using map and compass, keep in mind that since the magnetic poles of the Earth are located at different locations than the geographical poles. Thus, a north-pointing compass will always lead you a little astray from the geographical north on a map. For instance, in California, compass north is 14 degrees east of map north. In Maine, it’s 25 degrees west.

Assess remaining daylight - To judge how long it will be before dusk, raise the closed fingers of one hand between the sun and the horizon. Each finger is worth 15 minutes, each hand an hour.

Setting correct time on your watch - Use a pine needle to mark a razor- thin shadow on the dial. Find the halfway point between that line and 12 o’clock (using the shorter arc). Turn your hour hand to this point.

Starting a Fire

Because matches get wet and cigarette lighters run out of fluid, you should learn a variety of ways to start a fire in the wilderness. Any fire requires you to scavenge and assemble three things before you start:

tinder - dry grass, straw, pine resin, lichen, cotton, wood shavings or other flammable material that immediately combusts with a spark or flame.
kindling - twigs and tiny branches that light up quickly from the burning embers or other tinder
fuel - split logs, larger branches, charcoal or other long-burning source.

If you don't have matches or a lighter, you'll have to generate sparks using mineral-rich rocks and/or steel, concentrated sunlight, battery leads, electrical wiring or some other source. Once you ignite your spark, you have to blow on the ember to start the flame. Here are several ways to create fire:

Flint Striker - Most survivalists carry a flint striker which they use with a knife to make sparks. If you don't have these, jasper, quartz, fool’s gold, agate, native jade and other mineral-rich rocks will generate high-heat sparks when struck together. Or strike the rock against the back of your knife. (If the knife is high-carbon, strike it against the rock.)

Bow and Drill Method - A traditional firestarter, but labor-intensive. Here you using simple friction to generate a small ember of wood that's transferred onto to your tinder. Blow on the ember to keep it alive and ignite the tinder. Friction against wood is created by rubbing a thin pole back and forth, with its spear-shaped tip scraping inside a wooden cavity. Alternatively, a long length of twine, vine or plant root can also be pulled back and forth through a stretch of wood. The process takes time, since you need to heat the wood to about 800 degrees Fahrenheit to get it to burn.

Concentrating Sunlight Method - Use a magnifying glass, camera or binocular, lens, broken glass, bottom of an aluminum can or clear ice. (Note: magnification is usually needed to get the concentration to work, but people have been successful without it.)

Yucca Wood Method: Yucca wood is found in arid climates (like Mexico) and has a low ignition point. Cut two sturdy 6-8 inch strips and tie together with inner pebble on each end to allow air space. Make longer 12-16 inch strip to rub against the middle of the other two (securely braced) to generate an ember.

Other Fire Hints

There are many different types of tinder available in the wilderness. As you hike, be on the lookout for Old Man's Beard (a yellowish, fuzzy material on pine branches), dry moss, lichen, grass, evergreen needles, nests, pussy willow fuzz, dry-rot wood, dry fungi, bark fungus, pith from elderberry shoots, down from milkweed or birds, goldenrod heads, dry veggie fibers, bat dung, resinous dead twigs. Liquid resin is stored in the knots and blisters of pine trees; it flows out when you cut into it. Birch bark will also work; cut a length of it and roll it up for extended use. Note: never cut bark from a tree more than halfway around its circumference or you may kill it.

Kindling and Fuel - Softwood (needles, scales, conifers) makes best kindling. Hardwood (maples, hickory, oak, elm, beech, chestnut, poplar, spruce, tamarack, white pine) makes hot long-lasting fire.

Long Fire - Better for cooking multiple dishes and providing warmth when sleeping. Use the base of a rock cliff or pile a stack of logs to reflect heat back from the far side of the fire.

Sleeping Warm - Heat up ground for sleeping by burning a fire on it. Build a fire on either side of your outdoor bedding, but also dig trench to prevent yourself from rolling into a fire. Fill it with evergreen boughs and border them with rocks to prevent catching fire. Use heated stones like a hot water bottle.

No-Wood Fire - Drip melted animal fat down onto a rack of bones hanging over a small kindling fire.

Wood Pile - To build a log storage device next to a fire, use two stakes, two vertical support poles at back and two diagonal poles running from front to back that will hold cut logs.

Clothing

Socks - Whenever possible, daily and squeeze out water - don’t wring them. A good hiking sock has no ridge at the head to rub against your foot. If socks wear out, use moss. Your feet are your most important body parts in the wilderness. If your shoes wear out, tear up your shirts to improvise a new pair.

Shoe Fixes - Birch bark makes great inner soles. If needed, break in leather boots by standing in water for 15 minutes, then walk in them until they dry. Fold socks over boots to keep out debris. Don’t use rabbit fur for an exterior sole because it wears out quickly. Use bark or rawhide instead.

Leather Care – Never dry leather close to a fire. It becomes brittle and stiff. Stuff wet shoes with moss or grassy to keep shape and wick moisture. Recondition with foot oil. Use melted animal fat to waterproof boots. Best tallow comes from hoofs of moose, antelope and mountain goats. Don’t waterproof garments with fat because the grease fills holes and prevents air pocket insulation.

Natural insulating materials – Bird feathers (especially waterfowl breast) can be stuffed inside clothes for warmth.

Making moccasins – Use soft tanned leather or durable animal skins, and stiff rawhide for outer soles. Don’t tan or mess with the rawhide, except to scrape off rough inner parts that might hurt the feet. Leather straps should be a quarter inch wide.

Sewing thread – Dogbane on sandy shores makes good thread. So does stringy inside of agave leaves in the North American desert. You can spot the long needle on the tip of the long, narrow leaves. Bite over the needle and crunch open the skin as if you're wire stripping, then pull out the needle and several long strands. Interweave the strands or just use one for threading a garment or suturing a wound. You can also grind down the needle to make it thinner, as long as you leave it attached to the thread. Tie a knot at the end of the strand so it stays once you've finished your seam.

You can extract thread from spruce roots by simmering them. This thread is used to stitch together birch shoes (after poking holes in the wood with a makeshift awl). Use spruce gum to seal bark seams.

Buttons - You can use a short bone, wood fragment or sliver of leather from a belt, so long as you can poke 2-4 holes in the center of it.

See the Native Arts section for information on sewing, tanning of rawhide, leather work and backwoods carpentry.

Misc. Tips

Traveling on foot – Zig-zag along grades rather than up and over. Avoid stepping on wet logs or rocks, or rotted wood, else you might fall or twist an ankle. Keep your feet straight while walking and come up on your toes with each step to extend your stamina Change socks at mid-day and bandage any blisters immediately. If your feet become wet, dry them as soon as possible to avoid getting Trench foot.

Quicksand/Quagmires – This danger lurks in tidal flats, swamps, marshes, water holes covered with dry mud or sand, or muskegs. If you're caught, immediately turn horizontal and keep as much of your body on the surface as possible. Flatten your stomach and extend your limbs widely. A combination of gravity and your own downward pressure pushes you down. For instance, don’t try pulling out one foot at the expense of pushing the other down further. Waddle both legs to the surface, then swim out. Most of these holes are only the size of a couch. Rest occasionally, but persevere until you're out.

Signaling for help – Make yourself conspicuous against high-contrast background. Use green foliage or jet fuel to create smoke. Angle a mirror at sun and rescue plane or sweep the horizon with it to get attention. Three flashes, shots or dots/dashes translates as an S.O.S. Send a radio signal at exactly 15 minutes before or after the hour, because this time is officially set aside for potential distress calls.

Making a raft – Use three long fat logs or several skinnier ones to build a narrow vessel. Balsa wood is the most buoyant, if you can find it. Plastic bottles, if you can seal on their tops, can be attached to the bottom or used as floatation devices. If possible, cut a groove on either end of the logs to insert a crosspiece to fasten them more securely. Cut a dovetail that’s wider at the bottom for a snug fit. Otherwise just lash the poles together with slip knots that will tighten down when you're finished. Use vines, roots, rope or bark to wrap the logs together and attach a lead so you can walk the raft along shore. Secure waterproofed provisions so that they’re easy to detach in emergency. Wear your backpack on the front in case you're thrown in the water.

Scout out the course of river before starting off in order to detect danger spots. Stay in deeper, calmer water to avoid rapids. Listen for a waterfall or other rush of water up ahead.

On a large lake, toss some crumbs on the water and watch where the current takes them. Follow that route to find the water's outlet.

Cold weather – Ears are vulnerable to frostbite so keep them covered. Avoid travel in extreme cold. Instead, hole up and wait it out, even if you can't build a fire. It's OK to sleep, since the cold will wake you up – that is, unless you’re completely exhausted. In that case, work harder to insure a warm shelter before going to sleep (e.g. build a fire). Don’t drink alcohol for warmth, since that only gives you a false sense of well-being.

Whenever soaked to the bone, take off your clothes and squeeze them dry. Then redress and walk vigorously to dry them with body heat. You can use snow to blot up and absorb moisture from the inside of your jacket. Moss will sponge up moisture from inside wet shoes.

If necesssary, build a fire quickly and use your drying garments as a windbreak. (Keep your jacket on, though.) Garments and leather shoes MUST be dried a safe distance from high heat, or they'll be damaged and lose any insulating properties.

Ice travel – Carry a knife ready to stick in ice for anchor if you fall through. Stay 20 feet apart from other hikers and connect with rope. Stick to shallows by noting landscape. Use pole to test ahead of you. In a snow avalanche, ride the wave by doing a backstroke.

On slippery ice, put your socks on over snow boots for more traction.

Makeshift snowshoes – Make round bear claw type unless the trail is narrow. Thaw green saplings, then bend into shape for frame. Use rawhide strips, leather or rope for webbing. Try to turn up front end for stepping up.

Animal confrontations – Stand still and talk in friendly voice. If no luck, back away gently, still talking. Never run away. Make loud noises to respond to threat.

Avoid exposure to high heat - In a desert or other hot place, it may be better to hunker down and wait during the high heat of the day. If there's no available shade, dig a trench east to west, 2-3 feet down. The temperature decreases considerably the farther below the earth you get.

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More Resources

Quick Links

Websites

Schools

Survival Tips

Wilderness Survival

Getting Lost and Found

Starting a Fire

Other Fire Hints

Clothing

Misc. Tips

Survival Menu:

Building a Shelter
Finding Water
Food
Cooking
Lost and Found
Starting a Fire
Clothing
Miscellaneous tips

More Resources

Quick Links

Websites

Schools

Survival Tips

Wilderness Survival

Getting Lost and Found

Starting a Fire

Other Fire Hints

Clothing

Misc. Tips

Survival Menu:

Building a Shelter Finding Water Food Cooking Lost and Found Starting a Fire Clothing Miscellaneous tips

Building a Shelter
Finding Water
Food
Cooking
Lost and Found
Starting a Fire
Clothing
Miscellaneous tips